The Galaxy S8 could be Samsung’s lone flagship in 2017 – report

Renewed speculation suggests that Samsung will scale back its mobile ambitions in 2017 and only release one flagship handset, with the smart money obviously on the Galaxy S8.

It’s not the first we’ve heard of Samsung potentially killing its Note phablet brand in the wake of the exploding Note 7 fiasco, with the new rumours coming to us via the Korea Herald (H/T SamMobile).

It cites a report by South Korean news outlet Newsis, which claims that Samsung is set to overhaul its mobile strategy in 2017 to ensure product quality.

Samsung has traditionally released two new flagship phones per annum: a Galaxy S handset in the first-half of the year, and a Galaxy Note phablet in the autumn.

That’s a reasonably tight release schedule, and it seems like Sammy is preparing to refocus its strategy around a single flagship going forward as it looks to rebuild its reputation.

An unnamed official from one of Samsung’s OEM partners told the Herald:

“Samsung has not notified its suppliers of the plan to scrap the current two-flagship models strategy, but if so that could impact the parts suppliers to some extent.

“For now, everything is up in the air about what Samsung will do to recover from the recent fiasco involving the Note 7, but it will certainly make changes to its current marketing strategy and product portfolio.”

That would mean the Galaxy S8 we’re expecting to see revealed at MWC 2017 in Barcelona would represent Samsung’s lone flagship effort for the year – and be roughly 10 months old by the time next year’s holiday shopping season rolls around.

Still, an old, non-exploding flagship under the Christmas tree is surely better than a shiny new combustible one?